Stepchild of USC for immigrant visa (age 8) custody arrangement???

[Tilde333 31]

My husband has an 8 year old stepchild in his home country of Costa Rica.  We live in the US and would like to bring him here to live.  His mother and my husband were never married and do not have a formal custody arrangement.  She is happy for him to come to the US and live.  Do we need to have full custody before we can apply for a visa for him? It would be a solo petition and I (us citizen) would petition him.

[Tilde333 31]

sorry all, I searched topics and found the answer. Thanks!

[Boiler 43,438]

If they were not married then the child can not be his step child.

[Unlockable 7,306]

2 hours ago, Tilde333 said:

My husband has an 8 year old stepchild in his home country of Costa Rica.  We live in the US and would like to bring him here to live.  His mother and my husband were never married and do not have a formal custody arrangement.  She is happy for him to come to the US and live.  Do we need to have full custody before we can apply for a visa for him? It would be a solo petition and I (us citizen) would petition him.

So the child is not biologically his, and your husband and the boy’s mother were never married, how can you prove he is a step-child?

 

You can’t petition for him. And the relationship with the mother is over so your husband can’t petition for him either. 

 

Even adoption is not an option.

[Tilde333 31]

5 minutes ago, Unlockable said:

So the child is not biologically his, and your husband and the boy’s mother were never married, how can you prove he is a step-child?

 

You can’t petition for him. And the relationship with the mother is over so your husband can’t petition for him either. 

 

Even adoption is not an option.

Sorry I mis-worded the post.  It is my husband's biological son. My step-child. He is on the birth certificate as the father and they have a great relationship.  We pay his child support and everything every month and talk to him every day.  I couldn't edit or delete the post after I hastily posted it.  I looked up that I would file an I-130 for him and it would be like a normal immigrant petition.  We just need to get either custody or proof from the little boy's mother than he can live in the US with us.  Thanks for your replies!

[Tilde333 31]

P.S. how to delete or edit posts on here? 

[pushbrk 12,115]

I get the impression that it is the husband's natural child, petitioner's stepchild.  If so, there are two issues.  One is providing sufficient evidence the child is his natural child.  His name on the child's birth certificate would help and might be enough.  The second issue is not "custody" but "permission" from the mother, for the child to immigrate permanently to the USA.  In most cases, from Costa Rica, this would mean she's agreeing to an arrangement where she may never see the child again.  Not an easy hurdle in most cases.

 

Unless the mother already has and has used a visa to visit the US, she will probably never get one.  There is no way she can force the child to come and visit her or force the father to bring him to visit.

Edited April 21, 2019 by pushbrk

[pushbrk 12,115]

2 minutes ago, Tilde333 said:

P.S. how to delete or edit posts on here? 

You have a few minutes to edit after posting but you have already clarified your error in terminology.

[Unlockable 7,306]

54 minutes ago, Tilde333 said:

Sorry I mis-worded the post.  It is my husband's biological son. My step-child. He is on the birth certificate as the father and they have a great relationship.  We pay his child support and everything every month and talk to him every day.  I couldn't edit or delete the post after I hastily posted it.  I looked up that I would file an I-130 for him and it would be like a normal immigrant petition.  We just need to get either custody or proof from the little boy's mother than he can live in the US with us.  Thanks for your replies!

Thanks for the clarification.

 

53 minutes ago, Tilde333 said:

P.S. how to delete or edit posts on here? 

No need to edit. You clarified everything in the above post.

[Tilde333 31]

3 hours ago, pushbrk said:

I get the impression that it is the husband's natural child, petitioner's stepchild.  If so, there are two issues.  One is providing sufficient evidence the child is his natural child.  His name on the child's birth certificate would help and might be enough.  The second issue is not "custody" but "permission" from the mother, for the child to immigrate permanently to the USA.  In most cases, from Costa Rica, this would mean she's agreeing to an arrangement where she may never see the child again.  Not an easy hurdle in most cases.

 

Unless the mother already has and has used a visa to visit the US, she will probably never get one.  There is no way she can force the child to come and visit her or force the father to bring him to visit.

Yes! Thank you so much! We have house about 15 minutes from her house in Costa Rica and spend a lot of time there each year and are totally committed to bringing him to visit and visiting ourselves.  I understand what you mean though because circumstances change and it is a lot to agree to.... We have lots of evidence that he is the father's natural child (birth certificate, photos from birth of all of us together, evidence of child support, deposits, money sent, vacations, soccer fees, affidavit from both grandmothers could be procured, sibling relationships, a house the my husband built for son's mother...) 

[SalishSea 16,774]

4 hours ago, Tilde333 said:

Yes! Thank you so much! We have house about 15 minutes from her house in Costa Rica and spend a lot of time there each year and are totally committed to bringing him to visit and visiting ourselves.  I understand what you mean though because circumstances change and it is a lot to agree to.... We have lots of evidence that he is the father's natural child (birth certificate, photos from birth of all of us together, evidence of child support, deposits, money sent, vacations, soccer fees, affidavit from both grandmothers could be procured, sibling relationships, a house the my husband built for son's mother...) 

You were there for the child's birth?

[NikLR 13,220]

I think a comma was missing.  

 

Op read the I-130 instructions on how to petition a child.  It will take about a year.